Art of the Week: Multidimensional Flaming Serpent

This is an acrylic painting on a 9×12 inch sheet of canvas pad. Depicted is a dragon/serpent that appears to be existing in multiple planes of reality. I wanted to give the dragon the appearance of being made of flame

.

The environment of the background is very chaotic, I wanted to make it seem like the dragon was in between dimensions and that these planes of reality were simultaneously existing and protruding into each other. I made it look like machines, lights, and liquids were coalescing in a very odd way. I imagine that this plane of existence has different laws of physics from that which we inhabit.

All in all, it’s a painting of a multidimensional flaming serpent traveling through its strange environment of multiple, overlapping realities.

Why?

After focusing heavily on some larger projects for a month straight, I wanted to make something quick. The pieces I had been working on previously were very detail oriented and required a lot of concentration. This piece allowed me to let go of attention to detail and just allow my creativity to flow.

I didn’t start the painting with the intention of making a flaming serpent. I just went for it. Eventually I had a shape that resembled the body of a snake. When that idea came up, it rooted in my mind and by then I had my specific intention set.

After spending so long focusing on the little details for some of my larger projects, it was a relief to be able to paint this picture of a serpent transcending time and space. In a way, it made me feel like I was transcending my own creative limitations and that is always a remarkable feeling.

How?

I didn’t care about making mistakes or creating something realistic or impressive. I started by painting the body of the serpent, then the head. When painting the body I used extremely thick and copious amounts of paint. This created a very interesting texture effect, making it appear as though the “scales” of the serpent were rising out of the painting.

After making the central shape of the body I added arms and claws, finally finishing by adding in the eyes after it was all dried. Drying took over a day, that’s a lot of time to dry for acrylics.

Now that the serpent was done I got to work on the background. I chose a bunch of random, fun looking colors and attacked. I didn’t care about it, I didn’t think about it, I just went for it. I had a flat background at one point and then I just started adding in random shapes of various colors. I really didn’t think too much about placement or shape, if it seemed like a cool shape to me I used it. I made lots of layers in this painting to exaggerate the illusion of being multidimensional.

In Conclusion

I had fun with this piece. I just let go and went for it. It’s of a similar style to my painting “Archaic Revival” and I think I will return to this style again soon.

Click here to see purchasing options for this piece. Note: The top of the painting is slightly frayed, a slight imperfection that I think adds to the chaotic look of the painting. I accommodate by reducing the price of the original painting. This will not affect how the painting appears in a frame.